MPs Vote For Vape-free Places
As MPs debated Clause 139 of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in a Public Bill Committee, Dr Caroline Johnson emitted even more half-truths and nonsense
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by Dave Cross
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As MPs debated Clause 139 of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in a Public Bill Committee, Dr Caroline Johnson emitted even more half-truths and nonsense. Just two MPs spoke out against the idea of vape-free places in England and, come the vote, common sense and facts were considered unimportant as politicians pushed through the evidence-free, illiberal restriction.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care, Andrew Gwynne, told the committee: “The clauses will amend the Health Act 2006, the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005, the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 and the Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 by inserting new provisions relating to vape-free places across the four nations. They will allow the Secretary of State in England, the Scottish Ministers in Scotland, the Welsh Ministers in Wales and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland to designate certain places and vehicles as vape-free, but only where they are already smoke-free. They also provide that appropriate signs must be displayed in or near the vape-free locations, and they give the power to set requirements in respect of those signs.”
Gwynne went on to remind the committee, as he has for every session, that vapes “are not harm-free”. He also said that concerns about unknown harms of vaping are “legitimate”.
“It is important and right that the Government act to protect more vulnerable groups from potential health harms,” he stated.
Do you remember a time when government policy regarding vaping was based on expert opinion and sound research evidence? We do. Planet of the Vapes remembers.
If the opening wasn’t bad enough, up steps “Conservative” Dr Caroline Johnson.
“I have campaigned against vaping in children for quite some time…if you can smell it, you are breathing it in.”
Presumably, once she has helped to crush the best route out of smoking for addicted adults she will turn her ire on smelly bottles of bleach, public farting, and odious egg sandwiches?
Displaying her genius, she continued: “They may not give out smoke, but they certainly give out chemicals that are inhalable by anyone next to the person vaping. Otherwise, it would not be possible to smell the blueberry, or whatever flavour the person has chosen.”
Having had years to study reports by The Royal College of Physicians, Cancer Research UK, Yorkshire Cancer Research and Public Health England (now the UK Health Security Agency), Dr Caroline Johnson has spectacularly failed to comprehend the difference between being able to smell something and it being present in sufficient volumes as to pose a danger.
Inventing problems, Churchill continued to say nicotine “is still undesirable for people, particularly children, to be forced to inhale such a toxin. It is particularly harmful to pregnant women and those with cardiovascular conditions. The potential long-term effects of such low-level nicotine exposure are unclear.”
Not even medical grade propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine was safe from her angst – and then there was the completely fictional “Certain volatile carbonyl compounds, such as formaldehyde, have been identified in cigarette vapour, which could pose health risks with long-term exposure.”
Dr Caroline Johnson is either very stupid or a liar. Every expert accepts that formaldehyde is only produced in dry burn situations and not a normal byproduct of vaping.
Adding, “second-hand vapour can cause asthma and other lung diseases”, Johnson went on to whine that “Parliament itself has been a place where one experiences second-hand vaping…I have gone into the ladies’ rest rooms, where we have a little seating and sofa area, and found female MPs vaping, including one member of the Cabinet.”
Dr Johnson isn’t bothered about evidence; she just doesn’t like the smell or that it looks like smoking.
Conservative Jack Rankin attempted to inject a bit of sense. He pointed out that pushing vapers into smoking areas would only serve to out the health of ex-smokers at risk. He cited Action on Smoking and Health to say that this would also only result in more smokers believing vaping to be as or more dangerous than smoking.
Conservative Sarah Bool then reminded the committee that Cancer Research UK’s written evidence stated: “It is important that any measures to restrict vaping do not exacerbate harm misperceptions, and do not deter or reduce accessibility of people who smoke from quitting with the use of e-cigarettes.”
To which Rankin responded: “As my hon. Friend knows, I am not a doctor as she is, but I will repeat that Cancer Research UK said that there is ‘no good evidence that second-hand e-cigarette vapour is harmful’.”
But who needs experts?
The committee voted to allow the creation of vape-free places by banning them in locations Dr Caroline Johnson might want to go. There again, if you’re in a nightclub and Dr Johnson shows up, you may wish to relocate to another venue.
Photo Credit:
Photo by ian kelsall on Unsplash
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
